System Configurations
First things first, you can see that prices are essentially equivalent, but that is due in part to the components we selected. The Pentium D platform costs a bit more than the AM2 platform, as does the Sempron 754 system. We could always spend more money to add additional performance, but we're trying to stick to the upper end of the budget price range. We could have upgraded the AM2 processors slightly, for example by switching to an Athlon 64 3000+, but the difference in performance really isn't that substantial. We're not intentionally trying to handicap AM2, but the simple fact of the matter is that Intel has much better prices on lower end components. The Pentium D chips are all priced much lower than the equivalent Athlon X2 chips, to the point where we simply wouldn't consider getting anything but a dual core processor if we were to buy an Intel system. That said, the price cuts on the Athlon X2 3800+ will drop that to the point where you can actually consider it as an upgrade. It will still cost more than the Pentium D 805, but it will simply reverse the situation from now where our "Budget Pentium D" costs more than the "Budget Sempron AM2" configuration. (And for another $30 or so, you could then upgrade from the X2 3800+ to the Core 2 Duo E6300, and before you know it you're spending well over $1000 on your "budget" computer....)
You can see that most of the other areas are equivalent. All of the motherboards are reasonable budget offerings that still offer a decent amount of overclocking capability. The socket 754 motherboard is clearly cheaper, but it's also older and has fewer features than some of the newer boards. Looking at the motherboards, the Biostar TForce 550 is clearly superior to the other two. Gigabit Ethernet, support for all AM2 processors, high definition audio and a nice, clean layout make the price of $85 more than reasonable. The other two motherboards only include 100Mb Ethernet, but unless you have a gigabit switch it won't matter. They also include lower quality AC'97 audio solutions, but the onboard audio is still sufficient in most cases for people on a budget. If you're interested in getting better quality audio, simply adding a Chaintech AV-710 for $23.00 or a Creative Labs Audigy SE for $28.00 is a definite improvement over AC'97 audio, though when you're talking about budget PCs there are many $20 upgrades that can improve various aspects of the system, so for this article we're sticking with the integrated audio options.
The graphics card was chosen as a very reasonable budget gaming option. The GeForce 7600 GT packs a lot of bang for the buck compared to other GPUs currently being sold. X1800 GTO is also competitive in this price range, but the 7600 GT cards have much better availability. Note that while we used an XFX 7600 GT XXX, there are other 7600 GT cards that are priced a bit better, like the EVGA models; mail in rebates are also widely available, knocking off another $30 or so from the price of most 7600 GT cards. That means you can get some of the models for about $140 after rebate(s). If you're thinking that $140-$195 on a graphics card is far from being a "budget" selection, our reasoning is that you're building a budget PC, but you also want to be able to play games. We assume that most people need a PC in their home these days, so when people consider a gaming PC versus one of the consoles like an Xbox 360, they often end up concluding that the consoles cost a lot less. We figure you're already spending about $500 for a PC whether or not you have a gaming console, so really you're only spending another $150 to turn your PC into something that can play most of today's games. If you would like better video performance, of course, you could also go with a faster graphics card and spend more money. Prices on the 7900 GT cards have dropped to $265 before rebates (about $240 after rebate), so graphics performance scales almost linearly with additional money. If you don't need graphics performance at all, you can of course go with an integrated graphics solution or something cheaper.
If you're wondering about the memory choices and memory timings, there are many options available that are worth considering. The Patriot RAM used in the Sempron 754 motherboard was chosen because it was available, and because TCCD RAM remains highly regarded in the world of DDR memory. Consider it something of a handicap for the old socket 754 platform; it will also make things a lot easier when it comes to overclocking, so we're giving socket 754 every chance to maintain pace with the faster newcomers. If you opt for value DDR memory, you will need to use various memory ratios in order to be able to overclock the Sempron 754 chip, so overall performance will likely drop 5-15%. We began DDR2 benchmarks using 2x512MB G.Skill PC2-5300, but given the price discrepancy between socket 754 and the other platforms, as well as the fact that we are overclocking, we switched to the OCZ PC2-6400 as a moderate upgrade. It is certainly possible to overclock using value DDR2-667 RAM, but it is almost always less of a hassle to overclock with higher-quality memory. Depending on the memory you purchase, you may or may not be able to run the same timings we achieved, and in general we found that all three budget boards required slightly more relaxed timings than high-end enthusiast motherboards. With more time and effort we could probably improve performance slightly, but we're really only talking about minor differences anyway, and as we'll see in the benchmarks the memory subsystem isn't normally a bottleneck for the systems. The AM2 configurations are also somewhat interesting, in that the memory dividers do not provide exact memory speeds in most instances. For example, the Sempron 3400+ is really only running the memory at DDR2-720, as there is no integer divider to get DDR2-800.
There will probably be complaints about using a cheap, generic 400W power supply. This power supply was purchased for exactly that reason six months ago, and I was hoping to cause the power supply to fail by putting a constant load on it. It has been happily running the overclocked Pentium D 805 system with two instances of Folding@Home 24/7 for most of that time, without any difficulty. We'll get to the power numbers later, but basically the entire system power draw is still under 400 W (though just barely in certain stress situations), and we are only using a single hard drive and a budget processor. A better motherboard, heatsink, power supply, memory, etc. would likely improve our overclocking results, but all of those expenses would defeat the purpose of building a budget system. Yes, the power supply is a lower end model, but sometimes that's all you really need. Many OEM systems also use relatively low-quality power supplies, and while a few people might encounter difficulties, most of these PSUs will last several years. If/when it fails, you will probably be ready to replace your entire system anyway. One last comment on the power supply: we really have no problem using this power supply with the Sempron systems, but especially with the overclocked Pentium D system, getting something a bit nicer would be prudent.
Finally, you can see that we included a couple of upgraded AM2 motherboards. We used the Gigabyte board to retest the Sempron AM2 chip, as the results we achieved with the Biostar board were lower than expected. We also included a system running an "Athlon X2 3800+" (simulated) processor using a Foxconn 590 SLI motherboard. The actual CPU is a 5000+, but lowering the CPU multiplier to 10X generates performance identical to the X2 3800+. We "overclocked" this particular CPU to 2.6 GHz for now, which seems reasonable for normal X2 3800+ chips (especially considering that's what most people get out of socket 939 X2 3800+ processors). The reason for the inclusion of this CPU is that it will drop substantially in price in the near future, and we felt it was only fair to show how the cheapest AM2 dual core processor performs in comparison to the cheapest Pentium D processor. It will still cost more than the Pentium D 805 even after the price cuts, but there are certainly other advantages which we will cover throughout this article. The Foxconn motherboard was used with this processor (as opposed to the Gigabyte 590 SLI board) due to the fact that the Foxconn board properly supports CPU multipliers with the latest AMD CPU driver installed. The Gigabyte and Biostar motherboards both revert to the default CPU multiplier once Windows loads, which obviously affects our ability to overclock or to simulate a lower speed processor. The AMD driver is required in order to get correct results from PCMark05, and the performance differences between the Gigabyte board and the Foxconn motherboard are otherwise insignificant.
Update: If you'd like to see some cheaper alternatives with integrated graphics, please refer to the comments section. We have provided alternatives for all three sockets that are priced under $400, and almost at $300 for the AM2 configuration.
AMD Sempron 754 System | ||
Hardware | Component | Price |
Processor | Sempron 64 3100+ (256KB Cache 1.80 GHz) | $84.00 |
Motherboard | DFI nForce4 Infinity 4X | $75.00 |
Memory | 2x512MB Patriot DDR-400 Extreme Performance XBL (2-2-2-10-2T) | $139.00 |
Video Card | XFX GeForce 7600GT XXX 256MB (590/1600) | $192.00 |
Hard Drive | Western Digital SATA3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | $83.00 |
Optical Drive | NEC 3550A 16X DVD+/-RW | $35.00 |
Case and PSU | Generic case with iCute 400W PSU (Purchased Locally) | $50.00 |
Bottom Line | $658.00 |
AMD Sempron AM2 System | ||
Hardware | Component | Price |
Processor | Sempron 64 3400+ (256KB Cache 1.80 GHz) | $95.00 |
Motherboard | Biostar TForce 550 | $85.00 |
Memory | 2x512MB OCZ PC-6400 EL Gold | $111.00 |
Video Card | XFX GeForce 7600GT XXX 256MB (590/1600) | $192.00 |
Hard Drive | Western Digital SATA3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | $83.00 |
Optical Drive | NEC 3550A 16X DVD+/-RW | $35.00 |
Case and PSU | Generic case with iCute 400W PSU (Purchased Locally) | $50.00 |
Bottom Line | $651.00 |
Intel Budget System | ||
Hardware | Component | Price |
Processor | Pentium D 805 (2x1MB Cache 2.66 GHz 533FSB) | $108.00 |
Motherboard | Biostar TForce4U-775 | $85.00 |
Memory | 2x512MB OCZ PC-6400 EL Gold | $111.00 |
Video Card | XFX GeForce 7600GT XXX 256MB (590/1600) | $192.00 |
Hard Drive | Western Digital SATA3.0Gbps 250GB 7200RPM 16MB Caviar SE16 | $83.00 |
Optical Drive | NEC 3550A 16X DVD+/-RW | $35.00 |
Case and PSU | Generic case with iCute 400W PSU (Purchased Locally) | $50.00 |
Bottom Line | $664.00 |
Other Tested Components | ||
Processor | Athlon X2 3800+ AM2 (2x512KB Cache 2.0 GHz) | $302.00 |
Motherboard | Foxconn C51XEM2AA | $199.00 |
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 | $209.00 |
First things first, you can see that prices are essentially equivalent, but that is due in part to the components we selected. The Pentium D platform costs a bit more than the AM2 platform, as does the Sempron 754 system. We could always spend more money to add additional performance, but we're trying to stick to the upper end of the budget price range. We could have upgraded the AM2 processors slightly, for example by switching to an Athlon 64 3000+, but the difference in performance really isn't that substantial. We're not intentionally trying to handicap AM2, but the simple fact of the matter is that Intel has much better prices on lower end components. The Pentium D chips are all priced much lower than the equivalent Athlon X2 chips, to the point where we simply wouldn't consider getting anything but a dual core processor if we were to buy an Intel system. That said, the price cuts on the Athlon X2 3800+ will drop that to the point where you can actually consider it as an upgrade. It will still cost more than the Pentium D 805, but it will simply reverse the situation from now where our "Budget Pentium D" costs more than the "Budget Sempron AM2" configuration. (And for another $30 or so, you could then upgrade from the X2 3800+ to the Core 2 Duo E6300, and before you know it you're spending well over $1000 on your "budget" computer....)
You can see that most of the other areas are equivalent. All of the motherboards are reasonable budget offerings that still offer a decent amount of overclocking capability. The socket 754 motherboard is clearly cheaper, but it's also older and has fewer features than some of the newer boards. Looking at the motherboards, the Biostar TForce 550 is clearly superior to the other two. Gigabit Ethernet, support for all AM2 processors, high definition audio and a nice, clean layout make the price of $85 more than reasonable. The other two motherboards only include 100Mb Ethernet, but unless you have a gigabit switch it won't matter. They also include lower quality AC'97 audio solutions, but the onboard audio is still sufficient in most cases for people on a budget. If you're interested in getting better quality audio, simply adding a Chaintech AV-710 for $23.00 or a Creative Labs Audigy SE for $28.00 is a definite improvement over AC'97 audio, though when you're talking about budget PCs there are many $20 upgrades that can improve various aspects of the system, so for this article we're sticking with the integrated audio options.
The graphics card was chosen as a very reasonable budget gaming option. The GeForce 7600 GT packs a lot of bang for the buck compared to other GPUs currently being sold. X1800 GTO is also competitive in this price range, but the 7600 GT cards have much better availability. Note that while we used an XFX 7600 GT XXX, there are other 7600 GT cards that are priced a bit better, like the EVGA models; mail in rebates are also widely available, knocking off another $30 or so from the price of most 7600 GT cards. That means you can get some of the models for about $140 after rebate(s). If you're thinking that $140-$195 on a graphics card is far from being a "budget" selection, our reasoning is that you're building a budget PC, but you also want to be able to play games. We assume that most people need a PC in their home these days, so when people consider a gaming PC versus one of the consoles like an Xbox 360, they often end up concluding that the consoles cost a lot less. We figure you're already spending about $500 for a PC whether or not you have a gaming console, so really you're only spending another $150 to turn your PC into something that can play most of today's games. If you would like better video performance, of course, you could also go with a faster graphics card and spend more money. Prices on the 7900 GT cards have dropped to $265 before rebates (about $240 after rebate), so graphics performance scales almost linearly with additional money. If you don't need graphics performance at all, you can of course go with an integrated graphics solution or something cheaper.
If you're wondering about the memory choices and memory timings, there are many options available that are worth considering. The Patriot RAM used in the Sempron 754 motherboard was chosen because it was available, and because TCCD RAM remains highly regarded in the world of DDR memory. Consider it something of a handicap for the old socket 754 platform; it will also make things a lot easier when it comes to overclocking, so we're giving socket 754 every chance to maintain pace with the faster newcomers. If you opt for value DDR memory, you will need to use various memory ratios in order to be able to overclock the Sempron 754 chip, so overall performance will likely drop 5-15%. We began DDR2 benchmarks using 2x512MB G.Skill PC2-5300, but given the price discrepancy between socket 754 and the other platforms, as well as the fact that we are overclocking, we switched to the OCZ PC2-6400 as a moderate upgrade. It is certainly possible to overclock using value DDR2-667 RAM, but it is almost always less of a hassle to overclock with higher-quality memory. Depending on the memory you purchase, you may or may not be able to run the same timings we achieved, and in general we found that all three budget boards required slightly more relaxed timings than high-end enthusiast motherboards. With more time and effort we could probably improve performance slightly, but we're really only talking about minor differences anyway, and as we'll see in the benchmarks the memory subsystem isn't normally a bottleneck for the systems. The AM2 configurations are also somewhat interesting, in that the memory dividers do not provide exact memory speeds in most instances. For example, the Sempron 3400+ is really only running the memory at DDR2-720, as there is no integer divider to get DDR2-800.
There will probably be complaints about using a cheap, generic 400W power supply. This power supply was purchased for exactly that reason six months ago, and I was hoping to cause the power supply to fail by putting a constant load on it. It has been happily running the overclocked Pentium D 805 system with two instances of Folding@Home 24/7 for most of that time, without any difficulty. We'll get to the power numbers later, but basically the entire system power draw is still under 400 W (though just barely in certain stress situations), and we are only using a single hard drive and a budget processor. A better motherboard, heatsink, power supply, memory, etc. would likely improve our overclocking results, but all of those expenses would defeat the purpose of building a budget system. Yes, the power supply is a lower end model, but sometimes that's all you really need. Many OEM systems also use relatively low-quality power supplies, and while a few people might encounter difficulties, most of these PSUs will last several years. If/when it fails, you will probably be ready to replace your entire system anyway. One last comment on the power supply: we really have no problem using this power supply with the Sempron systems, but especially with the overclocked Pentium D system, getting something a bit nicer would be prudent.
Finally, you can see that we included a couple of upgraded AM2 motherboards. We used the Gigabyte board to retest the Sempron AM2 chip, as the results we achieved with the Biostar board were lower than expected. We also included a system running an "Athlon X2 3800+" (simulated) processor using a Foxconn 590 SLI motherboard. The actual CPU is a 5000+, but lowering the CPU multiplier to 10X generates performance identical to the X2 3800+. We "overclocked" this particular CPU to 2.6 GHz for now, which seems reasonable for normal X2 3800+ chips (especially considering that's what most people get out of socket 939 X2 3800+ processors). The reason for the inclusion of this CPU is that it will drop substantially in price in the near future, and we felt it was only fair to show how the cheapest AM2 dual core processor performs in comparison to the cheapest Pentium D processor. It will still cost more than the Pentium D 805 even after the price cuts, but there are certainly other advantages which we will cover throughout this article. The Foxconn motherboard was used with this processor (as opposed to the Gigabyte 590 SLI board) due to the fact that the Foxconn board properly supports CPU multipliers with the latest AMD CPU driver installed. The Gigabyte and Biostar motherboards both revert to the default CPU multiplier once Windows loads, which obviously affects our ability to overclock or to simulate a lower speed processor. The AMD driver is required in order to get correct results from PCMark05, and the performance differences between the Gigabyte board and the Foxconn motherboard are otherwise insignificant.
Update: If you'd like to see some cheaper alternatives with integrated graphics, please refer to the comments section. We have provided alternatives for all three sockets that are priced under $400, and almost at $300 for the AM2 configuration.
56 Comments
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mariush - Thursday, July 13, 2006 - link
88.7 CPU AMD Sempron 3100+67.2 MB Asus K8N4-E-SE
45.2 512Mb DDRAM 400MHz Samsung
85.1 250 GB Maxtor 16Mb SATA II 300 6V250F0 DiamondMax 10 with NCQ
41.9 ASUS DRW-1608P3S
86.1 ASUS EN6600-SILENCER/TD/128
26.3 400 W Generic case
That would be budget.. $440 plus taxes.. and runs any game currently on the market.
JarredWalton - Thursday, July 13, 2006 - link
Runs or runs well? 7600 GT is going to be about 75% faster in GPU-limited benches. 512MB of RAM "runs any game" sure - but some games suck with less than 1GB. Actually, a lot of games suck with only 512MB RAM. Look up about 4 posts for my budget recommendations. Either you don't care about gaming (get IGP), or gaming is important (get at least 7600 GT). Anything else is basically limping along.Kougar - Thursday, July 13, 2006 - link
Thanks for another great article! Really appreciated this one as it answered my Sempron vs 805 vs X2 3800+ curiosity that'd been growing, using the 7600GT no less! No component nitpicking from here! ;)Since ya brought up the E6300, I just wanted to ensure y'all had seen this website that has a authentic 2mb cache version, that included some very lovely benchmarks and even added some E6300 @ 2.4ghz benchmarks to boot. I can't say the revision number of the chip used though to gauge if this was a newer or older not quite as OC-able chip. Er, if I didn't say so before, it's in French, but that's what Google is for! http://www.matbe.com/articles/lire/306/merom-et-co...">Linky
Oh, and I guess while on the subject... NDA lifts for y'all tomorrow right?? ;)
JarredWalton - Thursday, July 13, 2006 - link
Yup. Tomorrow is the big day. :)Paladin165 - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
Jarred, thanks for the guide. It was just what I needed. However I do think it might be interesting to do a kind of "below-budget" guide. Find the cheapest possible system that still runs XP reliably, and uses new, off-the-shelf parts to do it. I do feel like anandtech focuses too much on rather high-end parts. I have to plead with my wife for any part over $50!I mean when you say budget gaming you really mean budget cutting-edge gaming. Don't forget that every game worth playing wasn't made last year...there are thousands of games out there that the integrated GeForce 6100 or 6150 handles fine. Many of these are better than current games, after all there are only one or two really classic games released every year. The only star game on metacritic right now is Oblivion.
I'd like to see what kind of computer you could buy today for $200 or $300 total.
JarredWalton - Thursday, July 13, 2006 - link
Not sure you can really get under $300 without making some serious compromises. I insist on:1GB RAM
DVDR
Everything else is up for change. So let's see....
Socket AM2:
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=477...">ECS Xpress 300 CrossFire RS485M-M $62
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=460...">AMD Sempron 3000+ 256KB Manila (1.6 GHz) $62
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=435...">G.Skill PC-4200 2x512MB Extreme NT $75
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=436...">BenQ 16X DW1650 $33
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=172...">Hitachi SATA 3.0Gbps 80GB Deskstar 7K80 $48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">Generic Linkworld Case + 430W PSU $37
TOTAL = $317
Alternative AM2 Parts:
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=482...">ECS nForce 410 GeForce 6100 C51GM-M $72
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=435...">G.Skill PC-5300 2x512MB Extreme LA $85
Socket 754:
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=418...">MSI nForce 410 GeForce 6100 K8NGM-V $62
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=293...">AMD Sempron 64 2800+ 256KB Palermo (1.6 GHz) $56
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=433...">G.Skill PC-3200 1024MB Value NT $84
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=436...">BenQ 16X DW1650 $33
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=172...">Hitachi SATA 3.0Gbps 80GB Deskstar 7K80 $48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">Generic Linkworld Case + 430W PSU $37
TOTAL = $320
Socket 775:
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=425...">MSI Xpress 200 RC410M-L $68
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=438...">Intel Pentium D 805 533FSB 2x1MB $114
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=435...">G.Skill PC-4200 2x512MB Extreme NT $75
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=436...">BenQ 16X DW1650 $33
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=172...">Hitachi SATA 3.0Gbps 80GB Deskstar 7K80 $48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">Generic Linkworld Case + 430W PSU $37
TOTAL = $375
Alternative 775 Parts:
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=220...">Intel Pentium D 820 800FSB 2x1MB $109 After Rebate ($146 otherwise)
http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=435...">G.Skill PC-5300 2x512MB Extreme LA $85
I spent much more on the Pentium D setup (relatively speaking), but that second CPU core can be extremely helpful. Even without OC'ing, the PD805 is definitely faster than just about any Sempron chip. Run Folding@Home for example, and you can get upwards of 400 PPD compared to about 200 PPD for Sempron chips. However, these are all just general picks and not something I've actually tested or benchmarked. Maybe some of the mobos suck - I don't really know for sure. At $317, the AM2 is a nice pick. No sense in getting 754 for $3 more. $375 for the PD805 system is also quite nice, for a dual core config.
jonp - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
Question:For Socket 775 you list the MSI Xpress 200 RC410M-L motherboard. Neither NewEgg nor MSI show this board compatible with a Pentium D processor. Will the Dual Core Intel Pentium D 805 actually run on this motherboard?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?mode...">http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?mode...
JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - link
That's the problem with trying to cut costs. :| Apparently I screwed up (since this was a quicker post than I'd use for article recommendations). So swap out the MSI board for...Hell, let's go with the ASRock Core 2 compatible model. :) (If you want to overclock, probably go elsewhere!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">ASRock 775Dual-VSTA ($64)
I'm stuck looking for an IGP solution for socket 775 that will support Pentium D. Looks like you might need to get a discrete GPU or else stick with Intel 945G chipsets.
midfield - Monday, July 24, 2006 - link
Thanks for the review and comments.I'm wondering if you'd make recommendations on a motherboard for socket 775 which has more SATA ports, or a SATA controller card, and also a full tower case. I'd like to build an OpenSolaris+ZFS disk array server for the home.
Viditor - Monday, July 17, 2006 - link
I'm surprised you didn't include the Asus M2NPV-VM (AM2) in the build...Raid 5 (as well as the usual 0/1/10)
Dual Head (both VGA and DVI) output
HDTV audio and video including RGB
nVidia 6150 graphics
Firewire
GBE
All for under $90...